Regimes of laser plasma expansion at optical breakdown in the normal atmosphere

Propagation regimes of a plasma (fast ionization wave, laser-supported radiation wave, and laser-supported detonation wave) generated by laser radiation in a wide range of intensities (5 × 10⁸?10¹¹ W/cm² ) are described. The regimes were analyzed on the basis of the calculated dependence of the propagation velocity on the laser radiation intensity. The lower bound of the velocity was used for the fast ionization wave. Calculation results agree with experimental data and show that the plasma propagates as a fast ionization wave in the above range of intensities.